Hi Bikepacking Community
I am looking to get some front suspension added to my trusted Surly and have no prior experience with front suspension so would love to hear anyones suggestions or thoughts on what I should get.
To give some background I have only been bikepacking for the last 2 1/2 years so i'm pretty fresh and still learning about bikes and my knowledge on suspension setups is none. I have a 300 mile trip coming up that will be mostly ridden on hiking trails with lots of rocks and bumps. From what I have been told about the route its heavily suggested to get front suspension for the ride as it would greatly add comfort to the trip.
I am looking for a suspension fork thats a good entry level all arounder for bikepacking and light to moderate mountain biking. I am strictly looking to stay in the lane of bikepacking so I am not looking for a hardcore off road gnarly set up. Just something thats reliable for mix terrain, does not break the bank ($150-$350), and can lockout for when I am on flatter lighter dirt or normal roads. Or if you think having lockouts is not necessary let me know why. Here to learn!
Bike is a 2017 XL Surly Karate Monkey with 29 tires.
Im Great with honesty and open to all suggestions. Thank you.
by TheMountainFish
5 Comments
Wren suspension fork. Probably over your budget, but if you’re riding with it loaded on rough terrain, you’re going to want something that will hold up.
I don’t have a specific fork recommendation for you, especially in that price range (I’d guess a decent suspension fork would cost more than that). But I wanted to say that I absolutely think a lockout is worthwhile for bikepacking. Most bikepacking routes have a mix of terrain and it’s important to not make your life harder than it already is when dragging all your gear up a big road climb. I generally prefer all rigid for bikepacking but when I do ride my hardtail I use the lockout a lot.
Also, can you tell us what model Surly that is? To my eye it looks like maybe a Krampus or Ogre? You’ll want to make sure the model is suspension corrected, meaning designed around a fork that’s long enough to replace with a suspension fork (which needs to be a bit longer to accommodate compression) without changing the handling too much.
I’d try the redshift type handlebar stem first. May be enough cushion with your big tires
https://preview.redd.it/i2eb52fgwbjg1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e3bf6f5320f09d639e591cf60411a7eb3cd9177
Here is a picture of my surly krampus that I recently put a front suspension on. I’ll add a link to the one I bought below. It’s currently out of stock but it should hopefully give you an idea of the specs. Mostly I got this one because it was on sale. I did have to get a less wide tire in the front cause I couldn’t find anything on the cheaper end that would accommodate a 3.0 tire. Also make sure you get a race and bearings cause I didn’t know about that and almost ruined the fork and the frame.
[https://www.jensonusa.com/fk001541?trk_msg=MDUON619A0MK1FNTT7T4CBPLIK&trk_contact=1K3V107IM10THSB880ESTM4AMG&trk_module=tra&trk_sid=7P5ICS549IQRHAPVJVM29DPTPG&trk_link=FFK56U0P5PN4T7QM5EH5B43EVO&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Product&utm_campaign=em-transactional&utm_content=transactional-order-confirmation](https://www.jensonusa.com/fk001541?trk_msg=MDUON619A0MK1FNTT7T4CBPLIK&trk_contact=1K3V107IM10THSB880ESTM4AMG&trk_module=tra&trk_sid=7P5ICS549IQRHAPVJVM29DPTPG&trk_link=FFK56U0P5PN4T7QM5EH5B43EVO&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Product&utm_campaign=em-transactional&utm_content=transactional-order-confirmation)
Marzocchi Bomber Z2 29, 120mm or 130mm. Basically a rebranded Fox 34, similar internal components. These are really easy to dial in and low maintenance. Available for ~$300 on sale currently.